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Secondary market transactions hit $46b in first H1 2019
Research - AUGUST 28, 2019

Secondary market transactions hit $46b in first H1 2019

by Kali Persall

After a record $79.7 billion in 2018, secondary market transaction volume hit $46 billion during the first half 2019, representing a 25.4 percent increase from the volume recorded in the Setter Capital Volume Report H1 2018.

The volume was mixed across asset classes, with infrastructure increasing 8.6 percent year-over-year to $1.51 billion. Energy fund secondaries were up 27.8 percent ($1.04 billion in first half 2019 from $810 million in first half 2018).

The survey gathered data from 120 secondary buyers, and includes 64 secondary funds, 41 fund-of-funds, 10 hedge funds, four investment consultants, and one pension fund.

The report found that the most significant activity was driven by the large buyers in the market. Specifically, the 13-largest buyers (those who spent more than $600 million) accounted for 68.6 percent of the market’s total volume, up from 63.4 percent from the same time last year.

This was driven largely by the increase in larger portfolios for sale and the record amounts of capital raised by the big players.

According to the research, buyers continued to diversify their secondary focus with about 12.8 percent of participants buying other alternative investment types, such as infrastructure, for the first time.

There were a total of 895 transactions in the first half of the year (a 20 percent increase from the previous) with an average size of approximately $51.4 million, up 4.5 percent.

To read the full report, click here.

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